Project Overview
Project Overview
Vardhaman Infra was appointed as the MEP and infrastructure planning consultant for a new government medical college campus in Rajasthan. This greenfield project required comprehensive master utility and infrastructure planning encompassing the road network, stormwater drainage, water supply systems, a sewage treatment plant, electrical HT yard planning, and overall utility corridor mapping for the entire campus spread across 25 acres.
Medical college campuses are among the most complex facility types to plan, with diverse building types — teaching hospitals, lecture halls, laboratories, hostels, residential quarters, and administrative blocks — each with distinct MEP requirements. Vardhaman Infra’s mandate was to create an integrated infrastructure master plan that would serve the campus reliably for the next 30 years while allowing phased construction over multiple budget cycles.
Scope of Work
- Road Network Planning: Design of internal road hierarchy including 12-metre primary roads, 7.5-metre secondary roads, and 4.5-metre service roads with proper gradients for stormwater runoff. Parking layouts for 500+ vehicles including ambulance bays and emergency access routes.
- Stormwater Drainage: Comprehensive stormwater management plan including surface drains, underground stormwater pipes, retention ponds, and recharge pits designed for a 25-year return period rainfall intensity based on IMD data for the region.
- Water Supply System: Campus-wide water demand assessment (estimated at 800 KLD at full build-out), borewell planning, overhead and underground reservoir sizing, distribution network design with fire flow provisions, and water treatment plant specification for potable water quality.
- Sewage Treatment Plant: Design of a 600 KLD STP using MBR (Membrane Bio-Reactor) technology to produce tertiary-treated effluent suitable for landscape irrigation and toilet flushing, reducing fresh water demand by 35%.
- Electrical HT Yard: Planning for a 33/11kV receiving substation with dual supply feeders, HT ring main distribution to all campus buildings, DG backup strategy for the hospital (100% backup) and other buildings (partial backup), and solar rooftop integration potential assessment.
- Utility Corridor Mapping: Creation of a master utility corridor plan showing designated routes for electrical HT/LT cables, water supply mains, sewer lines, stormwater drains, firefighting mains, communication cables, and medical gas piping — ensuring adequate separation distances and future maintenance access.
Technical Challenges and Solutions
The greatest challenge in this project was planning for uncertainty. Government medical college projects are typically constructed in phases over 5 to 8 years, with the exact sequence and timing of building construction dependent on annual budget allocations. Our infrastructure plan had to be robust enough to serve Phase 1 buildings independently while being seamlessly expandable as subsequent phases came online.
We addressed this by designing all trunk infrastructure — primary water mains, sewer trunk lines, HT electrical ring main, and primary road network — to ultimate campus capacity from Day 1, with strategically located stub-outs and valve chambers for future phase connections. This “build trunk once, extend branches later” approach minimises future road cutting and service disruptions while avoiding the waste of installing full-capacity branch networks for buildings not yet constructed.
The hospital building’s critical nature demanded special attention to power reliability. We designed a three-tier power redundancy system: dual utility feeders from separate 33kV substations (ensuring supply even if one feeder fails), automatic transfer switches for instant changeover, and diesel generator backup sized at 100% of hospital connected load. For the operation theatres and ICU, an additional UPS layer was included to bridge the 8-10 second gap during DG changeover.
Materials and Methods
The planning process utilised AutoCAD Civil 3D for road and drainage design, EPANET for water distribution network hydraulic modelling, and ETAP for electrical load flow and short circuit analysis. Soil investigation data from geotechnical surveys informed the stormwater recharge pit design and pipeline bedding specifications. All designs were prepared in compliance with CPWD specifications, CPHEEO manual for water supply, IS 1172 for water demand estimation, and the CEA (Central Electricity Authority) regulations for HT installations.
Timeline, Team, and Execution
The master planning phase was completed in 6 months with a core team of 5 senior engineers (civil, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire safety), 2 CAD operators, and a project coordinator. Multiple site visits were conducted for topographical survey validation, soil testing coordination, and stakeholder consultations with the medical college administration and the supervising government department. The deliverables included detailed drawings, bill of quantities, technical specifications, and a phased implementation roadmap.
Results and Client Satisfaction
The master infrastructure plan was approved by the government department with minimal revisions, a testament to the thoroughness of our design and documentation. Phase 1 construction (hospital block, academic block, and boys hostel) commenced based on our plans, and the trunk infrastructure installed in Phase 1 has been successfully serving these buildings while remaining ready for Phase 2 connections. The utility corridor plan has prevented multiple potential clashes between services during construction — a common problem in campuses planned without integrated utility mapping.
Key Takeaways
This project highlighted the critical importance of master infrastructure planning in large campus developments. The investment in comprehensive upfront planning — including hydraulic modelling, load flow analysis, and utility corridor mapping — pays dividends throughout the construction and operational phases by preventing costly redesigns, service clashes, and capacity shortfalls. Vardhaman Infra now advocates for this master planning approach for all campus-scale projects, whether government or private, and this medical college project serves as our benchmark reference for such engagements.